Tech Surge Drives U.S. Stock Rally to Second Month

Barry Adams
02 Feb, 2023
New York City

Investors bid up tech stocks and extended a five-weeklong rally a day after the rate hike. 

In heavy volume reminiscent of bygone days, investors stomped to increase exposure to beaten down tech stocks and search for bargains. 

Meta Platforms, the owner of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, finally showed financial restraint and said it will cut its cost at a faster pace and reward shareholders with a buyback plan. 

The news powered the beaten down Meta stock in decline for the last sixteen months, which traded as high as $379 in September 2021 and as low as $90 in November last year. 

Investors focused on corporate earnings after another batch of 130 companies released results and the familiar theme played out. 

Weakening construction activities in December, looking recession worries, sharp fall in advertising and strong dollar impacted companies across all sectors. 

Investors focused on not-so-weak economic growth in the U.S. and Europe and surmised that despite the elevated energy prices and four-decade high inflation, consumer spending is still resilient.  

The ECB President Christine Lagarde at a press conference after the rate decision held out for a rebound in economic growth driven in part by a rise in wages towards the end of the year. 

Tech stocks took the lead on the leaderboard across the Atlantic and powered market rallies in the U.S., Germany, France and the UK. 

 

U.S. Indexes In Review

The S&P 500 index increased 1.5% to 4,179.76 and the Nasdaq Composite index soared 3.3% to 12,200.82. 

Crude oil traded down 45 cents to $75.95 a barrel and natural gas futures decreased 7 cent to $2.45 a thermal unit. 

 

Treasury Yields Dropped to 4-month Lows 

U.S. Treasury yield traded lower after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell directed his comments to labor market conditions and acknowledged cooling inflation. 

Optimist investors prolonged the hopes of either Fed pausing or lowering its aggressive rate hike stance and demanded lower yields on the U.S. government bond obligations. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes decreased to 4.09%, 10-year Treasury notes to 3.39% and 30-year Treasury bonds to 3.55% 

 

U.S. Movers 

Meta Platforms, Inc soared 18.8% to $181.86 after the social media sites operator reported higher-than-expected quarterly results.

Advertising impressions delivered across all sites increased 23% and the average price per ad decreased 22% from the previous year.

For  the full-year 2022, ad impressions increased 18% and the average price per advertising impression fell 16% from the previous year.  

Meta Platforms said revenue in the December quarter declined 4% to $32.2 billion and net income fell 55% to $4.6 billion from $10.3 billion and diluted EPS dropped to $1.76 from $3.67 a year ago.

The company estimated first quarter 2023 revenue in the range of $26 billion and $28.5 billion and revised lower its full-year 2023 expenses estimate to between $89 billion and $95 billion from $94 billion to $100 billion.

The company announced a $40 billion stock repurchase plan after completing a $28 billion stock buyback plan in 2022. 

Estee Lauder Companies Inc declined 1% to $276.96 after the cosmetic company said travel restrictions in Asia and mainland China impacted its business. 

Estee Lauder said the fourth quarter revenue declined 17% to $4.6 billion and net income fell 64% to $397 million and diluted EPS declined to $1.09 from $2.97 a year ago.

The company guided full-year fiscal 2023 sales to decline between 5% and 7% and GAAP diluted earnings per share between $4.25 and $4.44. 

Humana Inc fell 3.9% to $492.50 after the health insurance company reported higher quarterly loss.  

 

Euro and Pound Soar to Multi-moth Highs After Rate Hikes 

European markets soared after the European Central Bank and the Bank of England lifted key lending rates as advertised and investors welcomed dovish comments from Fed Chairman. 

The European Central Bank lifted its benchmark rates but also reiterated its commitment in an unusually strong language to increase rate at the meeting next month  

The European Central Bank revised its benchmark rate higher by 50 basis points to 3.0%, the level last seen in 2008 and confirmed its plan to increase by the same at the next policy meeting in March.

The Bank of England decided to increase its benchmark rate in a 7-to-2 vote by 50 basis points to 4.0%, the highest level since 2008 as policymakers battle to control forty-year high inflation.

Markets anticipated central banks actions and investors are also anticipating higher rates at next meetings in March but the recent cooling in inflation also raised hopes that policymakers may pause near the year's end. 

 

European Indexes Advanced Between 1% and 2% 

The DAX index soared 2.2% to 15,509.19, the CAC-40 index increased 1.2% to 7,166.27 and the FTSE 100 index added 0.8% to 7,820.16. 

 

Euro Rebounds to 10-month High

The euro advanced to $1.09, the British pound inched higher to $1.22 and the Swiss franc edged up to 91.25 U.S. cents. 

 

Natural Gas Price Drops to 16-month Low 

Natural gas price in Amsterdam traded down to a 16-month low amid warm weather conditions and elevated storage in the region. 

Natural gas prices continued to drift lower for the sixth week in a row after regional forecasts indicated warmer weather conditions from Scandinavia to Italy for the next week despite a mild uptick in temperatures this week. 

Brent crude oil decreased 24 cents to $82.60 a barrel and Dutch TTF spot price fell 6.3% to 55.61 per MWh. 

 

Europe Movers 

Shell Plc fell 1% to 2,341.0 pence after the oil giant reported record annual profit and launched a $4 billion stock repurchase program. 

Revenue in the fourth quarter increased to $101 billion from $85 billion a year ago after energy prices spiraled higher. 

Net income in the quarter eased to $10.4 billion from $11.5 billion and diluted earnings per share eased to $1.46 from $1.48. 

In 2022, revenue surged to $381 billion from $261.5 billion and net income soared to $42.3 billion from $21.5 billion and diluted earnings per share to $5.71 from $2.57 a year ago. 

Full year 2022 income attributable to shareholders also included net gains of $3.4 billion due to the fair value accounting of commodity derivatives.

Windfall taxes imposed by the European Union and the UK also negatively impacted earnings. 

The net income also included $2.3 billion charges related to the "EU solidarity contribution" and the UK "Energy Profits Levy," and net impairment reversals of $0.7 billion.

The oil company said it has completed its $4 billion stock repurchase program announced in the previous quarter and the company expects to complete a new $4 billion plan before the release of current quarter's results. 

Shell also increased its dividend by 15% to 28.57 a share.  

Wizz Air Holdings increased 5% to 2,787.16 pence after the deep discount airline said the number of passengers in January rose 71.3% from a year ago to 4.2 million.

Deutsche Bank AG fell 6.3% to €11.46 after the largest German bank reported weaker-than-anticipated quarterly income. 

Revenue in 2022 rose 7% to € 27.2 billion and pre-tax income increased 65% to €5.6 billion, the highest in 15 years. 

Net profit in the year more than doubled from a year ago to €5.7 billion including positive year-end deferred-tax adjustment of €1.4 billion compared to €274 million in the previous year. 

In the fourth quarter of 2022, profit before-tax was €775 million, up from €82 million a year ago on 7% growth in net revenues with a 7% reduction in noninterest expenses. 

The quarter was positively impacted by a gain of approximately €310 million on  the sale of Deutsche Bank Financial Advisors in Italy.

ING Groep NV declined 5% to €12.70 after the Dutch bank issued a weaker-than-anticipated 2023 outlook. 

Banco Santander SA increased 5% to €3.43 after the Madrid-headquartered bank reported a surge in net profit. 

Total income in the fourth quarter increased 0.4% to €13.5 billion and net income after-tax rose decreased 5% to €2.23 billion from the previous quarter. 

Total income in 2022 rose 15.7% to €52.1 billion and net income rose 18.2% to €9.6 billion. 

Electrolux AB dropped 8% to kr133.70 after the Sweden-based electrical appliances maker estimated lower sales volume in 2023. 

In full-year 2022, net sales were SEK 134,880 million and operating income excluding non-recurring items was SEK 831 million. 

Earnings declined due to lower sales volumes, as a result of weaker market demand, and production inefficiencies lifted costs higher in North America. 

In the fourth quarter, net sales amounted to SEK 35,769 million and operating income was a loss of to SEK 1,964 million, reflecting a negative operating margin of 5.5%

 

Asian Markets Edged Higher 

Asian markets advanced after rate anxieties eased and investors shifted focus to local economic data and corporate earnings. 

Stocks in Tokyo advanced despite the worries of stronger yen weighed on market sentiment. 

The Nikkei 225 index increased 0.2% to 27,402.05 and the yen strengthened to 127.05 against the U.S. dollar.  

Benchmark indexes in China held steady ahead of a slew of corporate earnings next week. 

The Shanghai Composite index increased 0.75 points to 3,285.67 and the Hang Seng Index fell 0.5% or 113.82 points to 21,958.36. 

At least 89 e-commerce startups in China closed down in 2022, according to a report published by Linkshop.com. 

Weak consumer spending, rising online fraud and poor customer service were the leading three reasons for corporate failures. 

Last week, the Ministry of Commerce in China said e-commerce grew by 4% to 13.79 trillion yuan or $2.04 trillion. 

Adani Group stocks accelerated decline for the second week in a row on the worries of regulatory hurdles and closer scrutiny to slow down company's efforts in raising capital. 

The Sensex index increased 0.4% or 224.16 points to 59,932.24 and the Nifty index edged down 0.03% or 5.90 points to 17,610.40. 

The Indian rupee edged lower to 82.15 against the U.S. dollar.